62 THE BRITISH MAMMALS : THEIR GENERA AND SPECIES. 



paler. The head is twice as long as it is high, the neck thick, the 

 muzzle rather rounded, with the upper canines prominent ; the ears 

 are short and sub-angular ; the dark brown eyes are small and fierce 

 in expression, and the sharp strong teeth tell the same tale of 

 ferocity. The skull is ridged and compact, particularly in the "hob " 

 or male, the female being known as the " jill," as in the case cf the 

 Ferret, which is a domesticated variety of this species ; in fact, the 

 Polecat is sometimes known as the Ferret, though oftener as the 

 Black Ferret or Fitchet. It is nocturnal in habits, and rarely takes 

 to the trees, but hunts on the ground, kills more than it can eat, and 

 generally carrying the prey to its lair to feed on it undisturbed. It will 

 kill birds of all sorts, even geese and turkeys, and suck eggs, large or 

 small, and it is particularly partial to rabbits and leverets, and has 

 been seen to swim and dive in capturing eels and other fishes. In 

 summer it shelters in holes and among rocks ; in winter it seems to 

 prefer outhouses and ruins. The young, four to six in a litter, are 

 born about May. In length the Polecat measures a little under two 

 feet over all, the tail in large specimens being about seven inches. It 

 ranges over Central and Northern Europe, and used to be fairly 

 common in the wilder parts of Ireland, Scotland, and England, but 

 has been almost exterminated by gamekeepers. 



In winter, when the Stoat is brought within the snow-line, it 

 changes its coat to white, and becomes the Ermine. In districts 

 where the snow does not linger long on the ground it becomes more 

 or less white, but very seldom does it lose the black tip to its tail. 

 In summer it is reddish brown on the back, the dark colour extend- 

 ing half way down the sides, and there joining the sulphury white 

 of the under parts ; and in winter, when the white spreads over the 

 whole body, there is more or less of a sulphury tinge about it, 

 especially at the beginning of the black brush. In length, the head 

 and body range from about nine to over ten inches, the tail being 

 rather less than half as long. The female is less in size and darker in 

 colour than her mate, and. when old, has white markings on her 

 dark fur even in July. The Stoat, as a rule, lives in stony places, a 

 favourite haunt being a rough stone wall, but is not particular, and 

 the nest of leaves and moss, with the five young, may be found in a 

 rabbit burrow, or a hole in a hedge bank. "That vermin the 

 ermine " is out on the prowl by day as well as by night, can climb 

 and swim as well as it can run and leap, and includes every British 

 rodent in its bill of fare. Squirrels, mice, rats, voles, hares, and 

 rabbits all pay toll to it, as also do poultry and game birds in a 

 smaller degree. It ranges all round the northern hemisphere, and 

 in Russia and Canada is of commercial value for its fur. Like the 

 Polecat, the male is a " hob " and the female a " jill." 



The Irish Stoat is of the same habits and the same size, but 

 liffers in colour, the light fulvous brown above, instead of ending 

 half way down the sides, extending on to the abdomen, and there 

 joining the narrow white area which runs from the chest between 

 the legs to the tail. In short, the colour plan is that of the 

 Weasel ; the size that of the Stoat. And the colour is the same all 

 the year round, there being no turning to white in Ireland, perhaps 



